Commentary:

Characters:

Setting:

Summary:

Under development.

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Reading and Reference Texts:

Reading copy:

“The Imp of the Perverse” — reading copy

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Historical Texts:

Manuscripts and Authorized Printings:

Text-01 — “The Imp of the Perverse” — 1845, no original manuscript or fragments are
known to exist (but this version is presumably recorded in Text-02. According to S. A. Cuneo, the manuscript had been saved by a
typesetter and proofreader at Graham’s named Alexander McKelly (1804-1879). The claim may have some validity as Kelly did save the
manuscript for Poe’s tale “The System of Doctor Tarr and Proffesor Fether,” which was also published in
Graham’s in 1845. The “Tarr and Fether” manuscript found its way into the famous collection of Stephen H.
Wakeman, but what ultimately became of the “Imp” manuscript, assuming McKelly’s claims to be true, is not known.
McKelly claims to have given the “Imp” to an unnamed “local editor” in Upper Sandusky, OH some time around
1867. See the introductory note for the entry for a reprint in Urbana Union, June 14, 1871, below.)

Text-03 — “The Imp of the Perverse” — mid-late 1845 — revised manuscript, no
longer surviving, but presumably reflected in Text-04. (The changes between Text-02 and Text-04 are so significant in both substance
and number, that a new full manuscript is presumed. Poe may also have preferred not to attract attention to the fact that the story
had just recently been printed in Graham’s Magazine, which would be inherently obvious had he sent marked up copies of
the printed pages, particularly as the story began on the first page of the magazine, directly under the prominent heading with the
name of the periodical and the date of publication.)

Text-05 — “The Imp of the Perverse” — 1846-1849 — (speculated copy of The May
Flower for 1846 with manuscript changes made by Poe. This version has not survived, but is presumably represented by text-06.
Changes are too significant to suggest merely editorial meddling, although most are matters of punctuation, and Poe himself was not
alive to make changes in proof. These changes are not so significant, however, that a new manuscript is indicated.)

Reprints:

“The Imp of the Perverse” — 1867 — Prose Tales of Edgar Allan Poe, first series
(New York: W. J. Widdleton), pp. 353-359 (This collection is extracted from the 1850-1856 edition of Poe’s Works. It
was reprinted several times.)

“The Imp of the Perverse” — June 14, 1871 — Urbana Union (Urbana, OH), vol. X,
no. 13, p. 1, cols. 1-4 (with the broader title of “Romance” and the following introductory note: “THE original MS. of the following remarkable romance is in our possession, and can be seen by calling at the
office of the URBANA UNION.”) (This printing omits the final two
sentences of later versions, and otherwise agrees with the version printed in Graham’s Magazine.) (The orignal editor
of the Urbana Union was James W. Houx, who was later replaced by A. R. Candy and William H. Kernam. The founding owner was
Col. John Hough James (1800-1881), who sold it to George B. Hunter in 1870.)